Galapagos Penguin

The Galapagos penguin is found only on the Galapagos Islands. Similar to the Galapagos' Flightless cormorant, the Galapagos penguin cannot fly. The wings are put to use under water, however, since the Galapagos penguin is a swimmer and diver in the waters around the Galapagos Islands. The wings are used as fins and the feet of the Galapagos penguin are used for steering through the water. They dart around in the water playfully, like dolphins do. Galapagos penguins jump out of the water and frolic. Even on land the Galapagos penguin is playful and entertaining to watch. On the rocks they jump around and play, sliding on the slick surfaces, greeting each other by jerking their heads and necks, preening each other. They even give a high-five, Galapagos penguin style! The wings are slapped in the air, really! Lots of fun to watch.

The Galapagos penguin will build its nest close to other penguin nests, nesting in groups just as the flightless cormorant does. Galapagos penguins sleep at night, and on land. Creatures such as snakes, hawks, rats and crabs are the natural enemies of the Galapagos penguin.

Other Birds of the Galapagos Islands

Birds of the Galapagos Islands are known for their uniqueness and diversity. Many are endemic to the Galapagos Islands, meaning they are only found here on these islands. Sea birds were probably the first to arrive on the Galapagos, since they can most easily travel over water. They can usually fly far out into the ocean. Half the birds living on the Galapagos Islands are endemic, having adapted to the particular island conditions here. There are not only sea birds but also lagoon or shore birds, and land birds.

The sea birds of the Galapagos Islands originally hailed from Peru, Colombia, Ecuaor and the Caribbean. Migration cycles brought these birds to the area, and they stopped off on the Galapagos Islands to rest but some stayed. Trade winds also bring sea birds to the Islands. 25% of the sea birds on the Galapagos Islands are endemic. Let's take a look at some of the sea birds of the Galapagos Islands.

The Flightless Cormorant

The Flightless Cormorant is a large bird with black and brown colors and blue eyes. They have long beaks with a curved tip. All over the world if you've been in a sub-tropical country you've probably seen cormorants. They stand on objects in shallow water with their wings spread, drying them out. These other cormorants can fly, and need to dry out their wings for flight. The Flightless Cormorant from the Galapagos Islands doesn't fly, but still dries out its wings, a memory left over from ancestral habits. Flightless cormorants have evolved over the centuries and haven't flown for eons because they haven't had predators to stimulate them to fly, but they still dry out their wings. It's one of the rarest birds on earth, by the wat. There are only about one thousand Flightless Cormorants on the Galapagos Islands.

The Swallowtail Gull

Another species that's endemic to the Galapagos Islands is the Swallowtail Gull. They have a red ring around their eyes, which helps them with night vision. To match that ring, their feet are also red. They eat fish and squid and travel way out to sea to find food. They hunt at night because most other Galapagos Islands birds hunt during the day.

The Lava Gull

Besides the Swallowtail Gull, the Lava Gull is the only Gull on the Galapagos Islands. Other types of gulls might stop and rest in the Galapagos on a migration pattern, but only these two types live here year round. You can tell a Lava Gull because the ring around its eye is white, not red. The Lava Gull is also endemic to the Galapagos Islands. They eat crabs, lizards, dead fish and sea lion afterbirth. They hunt for their food, like scavengers. If they are protecting their nest with eggs in it, they can be vicious. Their call sounds like a person laughing. If they are feeling submissive, they have peculiar way of ducking their heads between their legs. like they are looking at something behind them.

The Waved Albatross

Another endemic species to the Galapagos Islands is the Waved Albatross, and only on the island of Espanola. There are around 24,000 Waved Albatross here. It's the largest bird on the Galapagos Islands, with a more than six foot wingspan. The wings help them glide on currents in the air when they fly way offshore to look for food. They can fly as far as Asia during their migration season. They always come back to the Galapagos Islands for mating season, laying their one egg. A strange thing is they will roll this one precious egg across the rocks and nobody knows why.

Petrels

Another albatross type is the Petrel, and they also lay only one egg per season. Galapags National Park protects the Hawaiian Petrel by law and has initiated many conservation measures. Predators include introduced species such as feral pigs, dogs, rats and cats. The types of Petrels in the Galapagos Islands are:

• Elliot's Storm Petrel
• Galapagos Petrel
• Hawaiian Petrel
• Castro's Storm Petrel

Boobies

The Galapagos Islands are full of Boobies, and are very easily recognizable as a symbol of the Galapagos. Boobies fish from the air and dive when they spot something. They are known to dive for fishermen's lures as well. The types of Boobies in the Galapagos Islands are:

• Nazca Booby, also called the Masked Booby
• Red-footed Booby
• Blue-footed Booby

Frigates

Frigatebirds are not endemic to the Galapagos Islands, but two types are found here: the Magnificent Frigatebirds and the Great Frigatebirds. These huge birds have enormous wingspans, long courtship periods, and slow growth of the baby birds. Great Frigatebirds circle and circle the skies above water looking for food. They cannot, however, land on the water like a gull because their glands cannot produce oil so they would sink if they landed. Males have a red pouch on their throats, which get inflated during mating season. The young grow slowly, and can go long periods of time without eating, which is an adaptation to an irregular food supply.

Audubon's Shearwater

Audubon's Shearwater is endemic to the Galapagos Islands and come from the Antilles originally. They look like Hawaiian Petrels but are smaller and ligher in color. Like the Albatrosses on the Galapagos Islands, they lay only one egg at at a time. There are around 10,000 of them on the Galapagos Islands.

Lagoon Birds and Shore Birds on the Galapagos

Flamingos

There aren't many Flaminos in the Galapagos Islands. They hang out in the mangroves, or anywhere the water is shallow, hunting for shrimp and larvae. Their bill has sonar in it! Water is filterd through the beak as they forage. Their nests are made of mud, built on the lagoons. They only lay one egg, every three or four years. No wonder there aren't many! They live around twenty years and spook easily so it's hard to get close to them. They have a friend species called the Common Stilt. They warn the Flamingo when danger is near.

Herons

There aren't any herons that are endemic to the Galapagos Islands. Here are the types found here:

• Lava Heron
• Great Egret (Common Egret)
• Great Blue Heron
• Night Heron
• Cattle Egret

Other Shore and Lagoon Birds of the Galapagos Islands

• Wandering Tattler
• Purple Gallinule
• Sanderling
• Whimbrel
• Ruddy Turnstone
• Semipalmated Plover
• Common Stilt
• Bahama White-Cheeked Pintail
• Northern Phalarope

Land Birds of the Galapagos Islands

Land birds of the Galapagos Islands are interesting because three-quarters of them are endemic. This is one of the things that makes the Galapagos Islands truly special. Land birds are sedentary so they come and stay, adapting to inhabit, reproduce and thrive. All of them come originally from the Americans, even North America. Brought here by trade winds, they got stuck here and then adapted to conditions on the Islands. There are around thirty different species of land birds on the Galapagos Islands. Over half of the endemic species are Darwin's Finches. There are also endemic mockingbirds, dove, flycatcher, rail, martin and hawk.

Mockingbirds of the Galapagos Islands

There are several species of mockingbirds that are endemic to the Galapagos Islands. They are:

• Cristobal Mockingbird
• Hood Mockingbird
• Galapagos Mockingbird
• Floreana Mockingbird

Darwin's Finches

Please see our Darwin Finch page for these birds.

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